We’ve all been there. You’re in the middle of your favorite Call of Duty game, and your Wi-Fi connection goes down. You really want to play, but you can’t because your Xbox One is no more connected to the internet.
You could stop playing and try to fix the Wi-Fi, or you could use your smartphone as a hotspot for your Xbox One. While it’s not the fastest option, it’s convenient and portable. Besides, connecting your Xbox to your phone’s internet may come in super handy when you want to keep gaming hard on the go.
Best yet, if you follow our guide to use phone as hotspot for Xbox one, you won’t have to compromise your gaming experience at all. So, let’s begin.
Key Takeaways
- To use your phone as the hotspot for your Xbox one, you must have a mobile data connection with a speed of at least 5 MBps.
- Turn on the hotspot feature from your phone with the mobile data on and connect to it using Xbox One’s Wireless Network Settings.
- Your Xbox One must be configured to use your smartphone’s NAT for interruption-free multiplayer gaming.
Can You Use the Phone as a Hotspot for Xbox One?
You sure can. If your phone has a data plan with at least 5 MBps speed, you’ll be able to use it as a hotspot for your Xbox One. You can play games on Xbox One using either Android or iPhone with the data.
Unfortunately, though, there are drawbacks. For one, using a hotspot will use up your phone’s battery power. And if you’re using cellular data—like 4G or LTE—to connect your Xbox One to the internet via a hotspot, it’ll also eat up all of your data pretty quickly. Even 1 GB of data can be used up in just an hour or two when playing HD video games and streaming video content like Netflix or Hulu.
How Much Data Does Xbox Use on Hotspot?
The amount of data that your Xbox One will use while connected to a hotspot depends on a few factors, including the type of game you’re playing and whether or not you’re streaming video content.
For example, if you’re playing an online multiplayer game like Call of Duty, you can expect to use around 3-5 GB of data per hour. If you’re streaming video content from Netflix or Hulu, you’ll use about 1-2 GB per hour.
How To Use Phone as Hotspot for Xbox One?
It’s time to figure out how exactly to use the phone as a hotspot with Xbox One now that you know the fact that it’s actually possible. Here’s what you need to do:
- First, make sure that your phone’s hotspot feature is turned on. You can usually find this in the Settings menu.
- Then, on your Xbox One, go to the Settings menu and select “Network Settings.”
- Next, select “Set up wireless network.”
- Now, you should see a list of available networks. Select your phone’s hotspot from the list and enter the password if prompted.
If you see a message that says, “Your console is now connected to the internet,” you’re good to go. If not, double-check your settings and make sure your phone’s hotspot is still turned on.
How to Properly Configure a Phone as a Hotspot for Xbox One?
A proper configuration mainly involves establishing the NAT type of your Xbox One console. NAT, or Network Address Translation, is a process that allows multiple devices on a network to share a single IP address. This is necessary for allowing multiple devices to connect to the mobile internet at the same time without running into connection issues.
UPnP is usually disabled on public mobile hotspots, and many restricted ports are used for strict NAT type 3. If you wish to enjoy a moderate NAT type 2 and play your games over the Internet, you must override any port restrictions.
To accomplish this quickly and easily, you should use a VPN that offers fast pairing capabilities, such as Speedify. VPNs prevent Internet service providers from seeing what you do online and imposing restrictions on port numbers. Traffic from VPNs always comes through open ports.
So, if you are on a strict NAT type 3 network (which is usually the case) and want to fix NAT type restrictions to type 2 for seamless gaming, you can do the following:
- Download and install Speedify and Connectify Hotspot on your phone.
- Connect to a Speedify server. With this VPN service, you can integrate multiple Internet connections into one super-network with enhanced bandwidth and reduced lag.
- Launch Connectify Hotspot. Select Speedify virtual adapter to Share from the drop-down menu under Wi-Fi Hotspot mode, and type in your hotspot’s customized name and password. Once done, tap Start Hotspot.
- Using Connectify, connect your console to your hotspot. Wi-Fi traffic going through this hotspot will now all be NAT type 2.
3 Tips for Using Your Phone as a Hotspot for Xbox One
After you’ve learned how to make your phone a hotspot for your Xbox One, there are a few things you can do to make the experience better. Here are our top tips:
Invest in an unlimited data plan
If you’re going to be regularly using your phone as a hotspot, it’s worth it to invest in an unlimited data plan. That way, you won’t have to worry about running out of data and being stuck with slow internet speeds (or no internet at all).
Keep your phone close by
This one might seem obvious, but it’s worth mentioning: keep your phone close by when you’re using it as a hotspot. If you wander too far away, you’ll lose the connection and won’t be able to game (or do anything else) until you’re back in range.
Get a portable charger
As we mentioned earlier, using your phone as a hotspot will drain its battery power pretty quickly. To avoid being stranded without a charge, invest in a portable charger (also known as a power bank). That way, you can keep your phone charged up and ready to go, no matter where you are.
Use a VPN
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a great way to keep your internet activity private and secure.
When you use a VPN on your phone’s hotspot, all of the data that passes through it will be encrypted. That means that no one will be able to snoop on your gaming or other activity to steal your personal information. And just as we’ve outlined above, it’ll help establish the ideal NAT for seamless connectivity.
We recommend using Speedify. It’s one of the most popular and well-reviewed VPNs on the market, and it’s compatible with most major operating systems (including Windows 10, which your Xbox One uses).
Also Read: Does Xbox Series X Have Wi-Fi 6?
Conclusion
Now you know how to use phone as hotspot for Xbox One, you can get started right away. No more restarting your gameplay to connect the console to an insecure public Wi-Fi again.
Whether connected wirelessly or via USB cable, you will always have a stable connection as long as you have an internet connection on your phone.
Do you have further queries about Xbox gaming over mobile internet? We will be happy to answer any questions you might have in the comments below.